President Nicolas Sarkozy made the first-ever visit by a French head of state to Iraq on Tuesday, seeking to reassert French influence in the country as the United States prepares to draw down its forces.

Lawmakers loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday disrupted a parliamentary debate ahead of a Nov. 24 vote on a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that would keep American troops in Iraq for three more years.

Babylon is the most famous of Iraq's more than 12,000 archaeological sites. The ancient capital developed into one of the world's first urban societies more than 4,000 years ago. But it went into decline after Persia captured it 2,500 years ago.

Iraq's National Museum, which was looted after the U.S. captured Baghdad in 2003, will remain closed to the public for up to two more years until security in the capital is better, the director said Monday.